The present invention concerns a lock for a swinging door comprising a lock casing and a bolt spring-loaded for engagement with a stationary engagement member of a door case or the like.
Normally, a lock has its bolt movable between a position extending outside a fore-end of the lock and an associated door leaf (locking position) and a position retracted to within the casing and the door leaf (open position). In certain applications, a lock having a bolt spring-loaded towards its open position may cause injury to people due to the protruding bolt. This is particularly the case in marine applications, where a ship or yacht is frequently exposed to movements of the sea that may cause unintentional and unexpected swinging movement of a door that is not properly locked or otherwise secured.
One object of the present invention is to provide a lock, particularly, but not exclusively for marine applications, that does expose people to injury risk due to a swinging door.
There is also a desire to enable keeping a door leaf in its open position, for instance a door between an exterior bath platform of a yacht and the interior of its hull. The spring loaded bolt of the lock locking the door in its closed position is normally utilized for this purpose by engagingxe2x80x94in the open position of the doorxe2x80x94a fixed engagement member.
In certain applications, however, the angle of the door leaf in its open position is such that the bolt is not readily engageable with this engagement member. A further object of the present invention is to provide a lockxe2x80x94with or without a normal protruding spring loaded latch boltxe2x80x94that is not sensitive to the angle of a door leaf in an open position as regards keeping the door in such open position.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a lock that is readily adaptable to different thickness of door leaves.
A still further object is to provide a lock, the handle of which is comfortably accessible and operable even when a relatively thin door leaf is concerned.
In order to fulfil the objects stated above, the present invention provides a lock for a swinging door comprising a lock casing having a fore-end and at least one side-wall, at least one bolt spring-loaded for engagement with a stationary engagement member of a door case or the like, said at least one bolt being movable between a locking position in which said bolt does not extend beyond said fore-end, and an open position, in which said bolt is retracted into said lock casing, said lock casing having an opening in its fore-end and said at least one side wall, said opening enabling engagement between said stationary engagement member and said bolt in said locking position thereof.